


Promise of a Lifetime

by mikistar1



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikistar1/pseuds/mikistar1
Summary: Sakura has finally gotten tired of waiting. Forever waiting. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Someone dies. Everybody cries. And Sakura decides to go on her own journey. To see the world. To meet new people. To save. To live. Or to die.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

PROMISE OF A LIFETIME

A/N: First time writing fanfiction. Please don't flame too much :)))). Also, characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1

"You're annoying."

"Sakura... thank you."

"You have nothing to do with my crimes."

"Maybe next time."

Just as the sun replaces the moon, rising high in the crimson sky, a teenage girl, just shy of entering womanhood, opens her eyes brusquely, breathing hard and trying to remember what that heartbreaking dream was about.

As if summoned, a lone tear starts its sorrowful journey along the girl's cheek, making the girl shudder and endeavour to cease the birth of , no more tears follow the first one.

The girl, now leaning against her pillow, has just had yet another despairing dream or nightmare - depending on how you look at it - about the only boy she's ever loved, named Sasuke Uchiha, a boy so lost and sad, with a past full of grief and dejection, wandering on his path to redemption.

Said boy has been gone from Konoha for about two years. Sakura briefly recalls that it has also been two years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. She was now a nineteen years old jonin ranked medical-nin. With the retiring of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju, and the ascension of Hatake Kakashi to the rank of Sixth Hokage, she was now also Head of the Konoha Hospital.

Usually, Shizune should have held that position but she chose to follow Tsunade's example and has also retired. In spite of this, both of them have opted remain within Konoha's gates to give counsel to the newest Hokage and help him deal with all the issues following the end of the war and Konoha's restoration.

Naruto has begun his Hokage training and can usually be found in the Hokage's office, helping Kakashi do all that neverending pile of paperwork, or rather blackmailed by Kakashi into doing all the paperwork while our illustrious Hokage reads his Icha Icha Paradise. He is also send on numerous diplomatic missions throughout all Five Nations. Right now he is in Suna, discussing with Gaara a plan to develop both countries' economy by encouraging the merchants into travelling from one country to another and assuring them that the roads are safer as days go by and that the criminality rate has gone down exponentially.

Sai and Yamato are back to ANBU and working diligently to decrease said "criminality rate". Right after the war, she had asked Sai very prettily to paint the walls of the new Pediatric Ward of the Hospital. Following that, Sakura couldn't have ovelooked the cold and bare walls of the orphanage, and Sai had a very busy and informative month. He became the children's knight in shining armour. Astonishingly, the children loved his blunt replies and inexpressive face. Of course, Sai couldn't have refrained from using his special ink while painting the walls. In the end, the nurses and orphanage workers had spent an entire month chasing after children riding all kinds of animals, from dogs and horses to unicorns, giant birds and dinosaurs until the ink was replaced with a normal one.

As Sakura takes her morning shower to prepare for another working day she ponders the fact that it's been a while since Team 7 has last had a meal at Ichiraku or a training session at the training grounds. She comes to the conclusion that the years have passed and all of them have responsabilities and plenty of people that count on them to succeed at the tasks they are given. Long gone are the cheerful days of ignorant childhood. Thinking about all of this reminds her that in two years' time the amount of work she has to do by the end of a normal day has increased exponentially. A long sigh escapes her as she comes to the conclusion that today's work is another argument in favour of her depressing theory.

Freshly showered, Sakura takes a minute to inspect her reflection in the mirror. The most visible changes since the war were her shining, slightly curling hair that now rea ched past her shoulders, her newly acquired and only seen if you look very, very closely, curves, a face with less baby fat and more character and a few more centimeters in height. Slightly frowning, Sakura can't decide if she should feel depressed that girls such as Ino-pig or Hinata have sexy and curvaceos bodies while she has nothing noteworthy to brag about.

Sighing yet again, she quickly dons her usual shinobi outfit, a sleeveless red qipao dress that reaches her upper thighs, with white trimmings and a white circular design on the back, tied with a black obi. She wears black shorts underneath the dress. As she is not going on a mission she reliquishes her black gloves and her elbow and knee protectors.

Out in the streets, Sakura forsakes the disheartening thoughts of her dream of her reminiscent thoughts of Team 7 and simply breathes in the morning air. She makes appeals to her optimistic side, trying to convince it to rear its head. By the time she arrives at the Hospital, she has almost done it. Entering her office, she is ready to confront head on all the problems arising throughout the day. And just as she is about to finally deal with the paperwork accumulated all through the week, someone starts shouting across the hallway:

"Lady Sakura!"

"Lady Sakura! Come quick! Lady Tsunade has collapsed!"


	2. Chapter 2

PROMISE OF A LIFETIME

A/N: The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 2

Sakura felt as if the rug had been pulled beneath her feet. Heart pounding erratically in her chest, she tried to calm her nerves as she ran across rooftops on her way to the Administration Building. She still hasn't wrapped her head around the fact that something could be wrong with her Master, the woman she considered her role model, the woman that had taught her everything she knew, the woman that had helped her find her way in life and the woman that had become a second mother to her.

Sakura briefly recalled the trials that her Master had had to overcome during the war. Lady Tsunade had aquired severe wounds during the fight with Madara Uchiha. She still can't accept that her Master would have died without that snake's help, Orochimaru. During the fight, Lady Tsunade used her famous technique, Creation Rebirth, a technique that Sakura, after years of painstakingly and constantly collecting chakra, has been able utilize. By releasing a large amount of chakra at once, the body's cell division is forcibly stimulated. Whenever the body's tissues are damaged or an organ is destroyed, the injury will instantly heal regardless of the severity. So long as Creation Rebirth remains active, the user cannot die, earning it recognition as the "pinnacle of medical ninjutsu" and the "ultimate regeneration technique".

However, Creation Rebirth does not repair the old cells, instead hastening the creation of new ones through division. Because a body's cells can only split a certain number of times, the user shortens their natural lifespan whenever this technique is used. That is exactly what Sakura feared has happened. Her Master has finally reached her limit.

Once in front of the Administration Building, Sakura relinquished going up the stairs in favour of climbing the wall at top speed in order to reach swiftly the Hokage's office. She reached the window and went in with only one purpose in her mind.

Inside, a sorrrowful picture was painted. Lady Tsunade was on her back in front of the Hokage's desk, pale-faced, Shizune and the Head Nurse were performing CPR on her. ANBU guards were placed across the room, waiting for an order, while Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru were whispering furiously, probably both frustrated that there is nothing either of them could do to help Lady Tsunade.

Kakashi was the first one to notice her arrival:

"Sakura!"

"Kana-san, let me do the chest compressions! Shizune-san you do the mouth-to-mouth breathing! How did this happen?" said Sakura. She placed the heel of one hand over the center of Tsunade's chest. Sakura then placed her other hand on top of the first one, keeping her elbows straight and positioning her shoulders directly above her hands. She use her upper body weight as she pushed straight down on the chest at least 2 inches. The young woman started pushing hard at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions a minute.

Kakashi intervened:

"We were just discussing the letter Naruto sent us regarding Suna and Konoha's economy development and Lady Tsunade was expressing her own opinion about the matter when she suddenly stopped, clutched her chest and fell down."

Once Sakura performed 30 chest compressions, Shizune put her palm on the Tsunade's forehead and gently tilted her head back. Then with the other hand, she gently lifted Tsunade's chin forward to open the airway. Next, she gave Tsunade two rescue breaths. Afterwards, Shizune looked at Sakura's despairing expression and asked, suddenly trembling:

"Sakura... you don't think...no...I refuse to accept it."

"Shizune-san, we should have expected this outcome long before it happened. Rest assured, I won't accept it either!" Sakura's crestfallen expression had disappeared, replaced with an adamant look as she continued with the chest compressions.

Shikamaru had observed the conversation until then, noticing what wasn't being said and was trying to come to an answer.

"You're talking about Tsunade's regeneration technique, Creation Rebirth, right?"

Kakashi quickly caught on and said:

"I recall that the technique had a downside: it shortened the user's lifespan. Lady Tsunade and Sakura are the only persons in the world able to use it. That being said, we have yet to confirm this."

Sakura once again tried to calm her fears and cease her shaking. She took a deep breath, saying:

"This is exactly the reason why we have to stabilize Lady Tsunade and get her to the Hospital. Once her life is out of danger, we can begin searching for a cure. Kana-san, please go preapare a room for Lady Tsunade. When it is ready, we'll use a transportation jutsu to bring her to you."

"Understood!"

Tsunade was on life suport. Sakura felt as if she were living a nightmare as she looked upon her Master. Her once youthful and beautiful appearence has now disappeared, replaced by skin stained with old age, white hair and a frailty that made Sakura's blood run cold. In the course of two weeks, she and Shizuna found themselves in a race against time, trying to find a cure. For them both, sleep or food existed no more. They survived solely on the thought that each second spent in the laboratory, is a second closer to Tsunade's cure. Without Ino there to forcefully feed them or order them to sleep, they would have collapsed.

"Forehead, enough is enough! Go home and get some sleep! You've been here all night. Your big brain can't work without rest. I've already sent Shizune-san home. You're next. I'll watch things over here so don't worry. Nothing bad will happen on my watch." said Ino as she ushered Sakura from her place on a chair at Tsunade's bedside out the door.

Sakura suddenly stopped in the doorway, sholder leaning against the doorframe. Her back was to Ino and her friend couldn't see Sakura's face but she had an insight as to what the young woman was feeling in that moment. For one, her shoulders had started shaking and Sakura hugged herself, fingers biting tightly into the skin of her arms.

"Sakura..." Ino approached her slowly. She wrapped her arms around her friend from behind, holding her tightly. The same tears that were freely flowing on Sakura's cheeks were now forming at the corner of Ino's eyes.

"I know that you're under a lot of pressure right now and you're sad and stressed and terrified that Tsunade won't find the strenght to recover, but you need to rest and you need to eat. I'm here for you. Whatever you need, tell me and I'll help you. Remember, all is not lost yet." Ino whispered against her friend's neck, holding her tighter even, trying to stop her own trembling."

Gut-wrenching sobs echoed throughout Tsunade's hospital room. Neither of the girl could say who was crying harder as they held each other. Ino barely heard Sakura's sorrowful whisper:

"You know what I see in the nurses' eyes when I walk through the Hospital's doors? What I see in Kakashi or in Shikamaru's eyes when the come to hear about our progress with Tsunade's illness? Or what I see in even Shizune-san's eyes when we're discussing our notes after hours and hours of studying all the medical tomes we have in the Hospital or even in the Hokage's office?...Hope...hope..."

Suddenly, Sakura wrenched herself form her friend's grasp and turned to face her, fists clenching and unclenching furiously. Ino could see the anger in her eyes, the tension in her shoulders and the short gasps that escaped her as she was trying to contain her fury.

"And I say... HOW COULD THEY DEMAND SUCH A THING FROM ME? ON WHAT BASIS HAVE THEY DECIDED THAT THEY CHOULD ENTRUST THEIR HOPES ON ME? WHEN WAS I EVER TRULY USEFUL? HOW COULD THEY THINK THAT I DESERVE TO BE CHARGED WITH SUCH RESPONSABILIITY?" Sakura shouted with all the power she had left in her tired being, between the agonizing sobs that have started yet again.

"Sakura..."

"Tell me... When it truly mattered, was I ever capable of doing what was within my responsabilities?" Sakura said while breathing harder and harder,her furious gaze now empty. "Where was I...when Neji died? Shouldn't I had been there? Done something? To keep him alive? Or Guy-sensei's injury?" A maniacal laugh escaped her lips. "Tsunade Number Two, hm? After all this time, great and all powerful medical ninja that I am, I should have healed his leg, right?" Her trembling hands slowly crept up her pale face, finally clenching in her hair. "Who am I kidding...I couldn't even save my own goddamn parents..." With this, she crumbled to the floor, hands covering her face.

"Sakura...Sakuraa! Stop blaming yourself about your parents. You couldn't have helped them. You weren't even there. They were on vacantion, having the time of their lives. The bridge was old and collapsed. You couldn't have done anything." whispered Ino as she held Sakura once again in her arms, burying her face in her shoulder.

Sakura only shook her head gently whispering:

"It was my fault...I refused to go with them...If I had been with them, I could have saved them...ha ha ha...My reason for refusing to go with them was such a selfish one...I chose to stay foolishly thinking that Sasuke-kun would finally return and that I would not be there to meet him..."

"I'm so sorry, Sakura..." murmured Ino gently against Sakura's hair.

The sobbing has now ceased, the tears have dried and the two friends were consoling each other. Sakura decided to be frank with her friend:

"I don't know Ino...we tried everything...went through Master's notes about the jutsu, searched the library...experimented with my Yin Seal...even considered some forbidden jutsus without telling Kakashi-sensei...I'm at the end of my rope...I don't know what to do..." whispered Sakura.

"You'll figure something out. I know your big forehead can work miracles." said Ino grining slightly.

Sakura didn't hear her as she was absorbed by her own thoughts:

"We tried getting Master to use her own seal to heal herself once more but without any results...we tried using my seal to heal her...and it still doesn't work...on paper the jutsu should work with the right modifications but..." She then realised that Ino was listening intently to her ramblings. Looking at her friend, a crazy idea came to her and she shouted:

"INO!"

"WHAT?" came the nervous reply.

"Teach me your Mind Body Switch Technique!"


	3. Chapter 3

PROMISE OF A LIFETIME

A/N: The characters belog to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 3

"Forehead, have you finally lost your goddamn mind?!" shouted a very confused and suspicious Ino. "I understand that you're frightened and that you've been working very hard these past weeks, but that doesn't excuse utter insanity!" Ino started to panic, her eyes darting frantically to the four ANBU positioned by the walls. "Stop making jokes and lower your volume" said Ino while smiling nervously at the ANBU. "Don't listen to her blabbering, she's just a little tired."

"Shut up, Ino-Pig. One of us is trying to think." said Sakura bitting furiously her nails and walking rapidly from one side of the room to another. The Mind Body Switch Technique is the signature technique of the Yamanaka user converts their consciousness to spiritual energy, which they send at a target. Their consciousness moves slowly towards the target and travels in a straight line. If the user misses their target, it will take several minutes for their consciousness to find its way back to their own body. To prevent this from happening, the Mind Body Switch should only be used against targets that are stationary or that are restrained. When their consciousness does successfully make it to the target, the user supplants the target's mind and takes total control of their body. Furthermore, any damage the possessed body receives is done to their original body as well thought Sakura. She felt as thought she was getting close to the revelation of her life and that Tsunade's cure was minutes away from making itself known to her.

"Earth to Sakura! Helloo...is anyone there?" Ino was waving her hand in from of Sakura's face but it seemed that she had left the real world for another realm, unknown to many.

The Strength of a Hundred Seal - which takes the form of a diamond on the user's forehead - is used to gradually build up and store the user's chakra over time. Yin Seal: Release opens that seal, giving the user access to the accumulated chakra. Upon release, a pattern starts to appear from the diamond shape, spreading out across their forehead and potentially the rest of their body; by spreading the seal's pattern to another, the user can transfer the seal's chakra to them instead. The stored chakra amounts to far more than what the user has on their own, allowing them to perform chakra-demanding jutsu that they wouldn't be able to use otherwise, such as Creation Rebirth. If not all of the chakra ends up being used, it can be stored in a new Strength of a Hundred Seal.

Ino had long since given up trying to get Sakura's attention and now sat in the chair next to Tsunade, monitoring her condition. She knew that her best friend will talk to her when she had gathered her thoughts.

The Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique is a forbidden technique that is only accessible to those who have mastered the Creation Rebirth technique.A small fire burst inside of Sakura, the endless passion for knowledge and her neverending wish to do good and to be useful united in her heart making it beat faster. She was once again reminded of the reason behind her decision to become a medic-nin. The discovery she was about to make would be her most important accomplishment.

While very similar in nature to its parent technique, which also regenerates the user's wounds via accelerated cell division, the Strength of a Hundred Technique has a continuous, automatic effect that will heal any damage that the user sustains instantly without the need to make hand seals or even a conscious effort to activate the healing process as long as they have chakra left. Use of the technique also requires the release of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, but rather than just covering the face, the markings extend over the user's entire body. As a testament to both its power and her confidence in its healing prowess, Tsunade has decreed that only medical-nin who have mastered this technique are permitted to break the first three rules that govern their role on the battlefield — which effectively prohibit their direct involvement in any conflict — that she herself established. This makes her Master and her, Sakura, the only ones allowed to break these rules.

Sakura stopped walking and sat in the chair next to Ino's, putting her head in her hands and attempting to concentrate.

During the Fourth Shinobi War, in the final battle against Kaguya, She had used her Strength of a Hundred Technique to transfer her chakra to Obito Uchiha in order to open portals and find Sasuke. While her jutsu proved useful in giving chakra to another, she found out during her research, that she couldn't also transfer the ability to continuously heal the user by constantly regenerating cells as long as the user had chakra.

This was the impediment Sakura was confronting with. She came to the conclusion that the only way to cure her Master was to somehow get her to activate her Strength of a Hundred Technique and use Creation Rebirth. Sakura herself realised that asking Ino to teach her the Mind Body Switch Technique was a stroke of genius. By using the Yamanaka clan's secret technique, she could transfer her mind into her Master's body and finally use Creation Rebirth. Obviously, while the Fifth Hokage has reached her limit and she could no longer regenerate cells, Sakura was in the prime of her life. Now, her only problem was to find a way to modify both jutsus as to use her own lifespan when curing Tsunade, not her Master's.

Having reached a decision, Sakura abruptly got out of her seat and put her hands on Ino's shoulders.

"Ino! Teach me your clan's secret technique!"

"Oh, so now you're talking to me? I'm sorry but I honestly think that you should go home and rest. I do believe that you're very tired and confused." Ino got out of her seat and started dragging Sakura to the door. She then told the ANBU with a forced smile on her face:

"Please excuse my friend, she's a little disoriented."

"Ino, listen to me-"

"Shh, let's go now." Ino grabed Sakura's hand and they walked out the door. Sakura would've started to talk but Ino silenced her with a look, still dragging her to her office. Once they were inside, Ino let go of Sakura's and shut the door furiously. She took a deep breath and turned to face Sakura.

"You have two minutes to use your big forehead and convince me not to call the Head Nurse and tell her that you've gone nuts and should be locked up."

Sakura suddenly realised that her friend had reached the limits of her patience and that she should proceed with caution. " Ino-"

Unfortunately, Ino had had enough.

"No, Sakura, you listen to me now. What you're asking of me is something impossible. The Mind Body Switch Technique is a secret technique...SECRET...YOU GOT IT! If I attempt to teach you that technique and my clan finds out, I could even lose my position as heir." Ino had started to tremble and a painful expression appeared on her pale face. "My father would turn in his grave if such a thing happened."

Sakura took Ino by the shoulders and hugged her tightly. She understood Ino's reasons for refusing her request. Even so... she could not back down. This was her only chance of saving Tsunade. She let go of Ino's shoulders and instead raised her hands to touch her friend's cheeks. Sakura then looked deeply in Ino's sorrowful eyes and whispered:

"Ino...please...it's my only shot...it's the only way to save her...to cure Tsunade...I have to try...If I don't, I will regret it for the rest of my life..."

"No...no..." Ino started to shake her head not wanting to listen to her.

Sakura caught her friend's chin in her hand to stop Ino's frantic shaking, a very determined look in her eyes.

"Listen to me! It will be our secret! You will teach me in secret. No one will find out. The only ones knowing our secret would be Kakashi-sensei and Shizune-san. But only if you want to."

Ino recognized the subborn look in Sakura's eyes. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to calm down.

"Sakura... you realise that the chance of you learning the jutsu is next to none. Firstly, it's a clan jutsu. It may be that you don't have the genetic structure to utilise it. Secondly, you're not exactly a genius when using ninjutsu. Actually, I would say you're only slightly better than Lee and that's because you can utilise a Substitution jutsu and he can only use taijutsu. And if you didn't get it 'cause I said it too nicely, YOU SUCK AT NINJUTSU!

Sakura cringed at Ino's reasoning. She herself recognised that she didn't excel at ninjutsu but even so...She felt desperation clutching her heart... However, Ino wasn't finished:

"Sakura...although we're always competing with each other, whether it's boys, fashion or missions, I still consider you my best friend...I know that you're at your wits' end..." Ino runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. "...Shit...FINE! I'll help your sorry ass...for this favor you should be kissing my ass for the rest of the year." Ino finally said half laughing, half despairing. Suddenly, she was taken by the hands forcibly and started spinning. A loud cry of triumph was heard in the office as Sakura clutched Ino's hands strongly and spinned along with her.

"Ino...I COULD KISS YOU RIGHT NOW! Ha ha ha! " Sakura embraced her friend .

"Ugh, Forehead, you're laying it on a little thick with the affection." grumbled Ino. " Keep it locked until Sasuke returns to the village. I know that you've accumulated quite a few years of sexual frustration but wait until your beau comes back . Ouch! Why did you hit me?!"


	4. Chapter 4

Promise of a Lifetime

Chapter 4

A/N: Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

„Forehead, for the last time, concentrate dammit! This is the second time you messed up the hand signs!" Ino shouted while trying to heal the headache that had started an hour ago.

„Well, if you stopped screaming your head off everytime I make a little mistake I could finally concentrate and pull off this fucking jutsu." Sakura responded. Suddenly, she smirked. „I know, maybe I should give up learning this technique and start exercising with my fists. You could act as my dummy." The smirk widened. „I haven't had a proper warm up in a long time. Tsunade would be disappointed in me." And then it turned pure evil. „So?... What do you say ? I'm sure that after I'm finished with your face, it'll finally be considered passable instead of plain ugly."

„Why you..." Ino then lost her temper and grabbed Sakura by her red shirt, meaning to punch her . Fortunately or unfortunately if you ask Ino, she was interrupted.

„Umm... so are you going to tell me why you needed me here or can I go home?" Sai asked calmly from where he was seated on Sakura's sofa. An hour ago he received a message from Sakura saying she needed his help and that he had to come to her apartment. Curious about what was happening, he came, but he now he is mildly disappointed that he was invited only to watch Sakura and Ino beat the living daylights of each other. „ I read somewhere that intercourse is more satisfactory after a fight. And honestly I always wanted to test this out. So, I hope you don't mind if I stick around and take notes while you get it on-"

His neverending tirade was interrupted by the painful feeling of being hit in the face by a book and a ... was that the TV?!

„ So... peace?" asked Sakura while turning to Ino. „ I promise I'll listen to every word you say. And do whatever you tell me to."

„I think the word you're looking for is... kinky." whispered Sai while trying to stop his nosebleed.

„Peace. I'm glad you finally recognise my great teaching abilities." Ino then tackled Sai on the sofa and now had him in a chokehold. „ Sai, if you don't shut up, you won't be able to see anything let alone read your stupid books after I give you a black eye, twice, you got it?"

„Yes, ma'am... I mean Beautiful." said Sai while gasping for air.

Sakura only shook her head and turned back to her training.

A couple more weeks passed by. Everyday, without fail, Sakura worked on the jutsu. That's what Ino thought. In actuality, it was day and night. Sometimes she trained alone. Other times Ino was there to guide her and offer advice. Sai would come by and either silently watch her or make sketches of her while she is concentrating. Interestingly enough, at least to Sai, some of them made Sakura blush profusely when he showed them to her.

One day it finally happened. She and Sai were sitting on the floor of her living room. Sakura was breathing heavily while wiping the perspiration off her face. Five hours of constantly trying to literally enter Sai's head had exhausted her. That's it when Sai told Sakura to try one more time and then they'll go out to get something to eat. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded. With closed eyes, she turned her body to face Sai's and started with the hand signs. Concentrating hard, she slowly gathered chakra in her body, manipulating it carefully.

„Mind body switch technique!"

Suddenly, she got tunnel vision. Her hands started shaking and she struggled breathing properly. Her head throbbed she started feeling nauseated. And then she saw no more.

After what seemed like an eternity, she woke up.

‚Hm... strange... I don't remember having a mirror in the living room... I always thought that the one in the hallway was more than enough...Wait a second... it seems like I'm sleeping...no surprise there... I'm beat...I wonder if the technique worked...I can't seem to remember...WAIT...THERE IS MY BODY...I'M NOT IN MY BODY... IT WORKED! IT WORKED!' After doing a victory dance for a couple of minutes, she finally started to examine her new body. The first thing that caught her eye was Sai's naked stomach. Her eyes widened as she realised that this was the perfect opportunity to harass Sai in revenge for all the stupid things he said.

‚There's no torture in the world painful enough to make me admit in front of Sai that he's got the sexiest abs I've ever seen in my entire life.' thought Sakura while wiping the saliva from the corner of her mouth and maybe copping a feel. Or two. No one would ever know for sure.'


	5. Chapter 5

Promise of a Lifetime

Chapter 5

A/N: Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

It should be obvious that Sakura had some convincing work to do after learning the jutsu. Shizune, being very familiarized with Creation Rebirth and getting desperate trying to find a solution, ultimately agreed to Sakura's crazy plan. On the other hand, unexpectedly, Kakashi was very much against it.

„Sakura, there's no certainty that it will work. You're putting your own life on the line and I can't abide it. I'm sorry. As the Hokage, I can't allow it."

Sakura just couldn't believe her ears. Two minutes in the Hokage's Office was all it took for her to want to smash something. Preferably, Kakashi-sensei's face. After all her work, she was shocked to find out that a simple ‚No' from her former teacher could ruin it all. Beyond frustrated and starting to get angry, she grabbed tightly onto his desk leaned closer to him and said softly:

„I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, but it's not your call to make." A true Sai smile appeared on her face. „If Naruto or Sasuke were to risk their lives, you wouldn't bat an eye. I know I'm nowhere near their level of strenght, but this is my field of expertise. Trust me, I spent hours attempting to find a cure. This method was all I could come up with. It's our only way."

Frustrated Kakashi leans back in his chair and sighs. Then, slowly, he turns his head to the window, his eyes looking somewhere far beyond the Hokage Mountain or the village. His face gets a very haunting expression .

As she watches him, she tenderly recalls a night of revelations a few months after the war in which all of Team Kakashi except for Sasuke gathered at her apartment. Sakura had started experimenting with cooking in her free time, creating different dishes and she tought to invite all of them and spend some time together as both Kakashi and Naruto became very busy with Hokage duties and diplomatic missions respectively. Of course, the night couldn't go by without Sai calling her ugly, insulting her cooking, making a very sexual comment about Naruto so that he gets up from the table and starts taking his pants off to try and prove his ‚manhood' once and for all. Obviously this prompts Sakura to punch them both but only after Captain Yamato scares Naruto into behaving for the rest of the night. Clearly, all of this is happening while Kakashi lounges on her couch evidently busy with either reading Icha Icha or gobbling down food when no one is watching him.

Late in the night, the cheerful atmosphere turns solemn as Kakashi unexpectedly starts telling them a story. A story so fulled with sorrow and torment of three clueless kids and their teacher, Sakura has tears in her eyes, Naruto is sitting by the window with his back to them and fists clenched tightly and Sai gently inquires if it would be ok to someday paint ‚Konoha's heroes' as he puts it. Captain Yamato silently reassures Kakashi with a hand on his shoulder as he tries to recollect himself.

Recalling that night makes Sakura calm down. Suddenly, she gets in front of Kakashi's desk and between his legs, with a hand on his shoulder and the other around his neck, she hugs him closely, tenderly, trying to make his worries go way. She tells him softly:

„Kakashi-sensei...don't you dare blame yourself again. Please..." She leans back a little to watch his face while taking his hand and bringing it to her cheek, tilting her head toward it. „I'm not Rin...I promise you...I won't die..." She then closes her eyes and a quick smile comes to her lips. „ Can't die until I've seen your face and won the bet"

This has Kakashi responding with his tipical smile. „Oh? Didn't know you still had a bet going...What is your guess?"

„Hmmm...let's see...buck teeth definetly not...fish lips no way...Kakashi-sensei...I think you're quite the handsome guy under that mask." said Sakura as she watched his face closely for any hint that she was right in her predictions.

She didn't have time to analyse further, because she was grabbed back into an even tighter hug than the one she gave. She might have made a very unladylike sound in her surprise but no one could say for sure. The hand she had on Kakashi's chest could feel him trembling and she realised that he was really scared for her. Her heart gave a lurch and her eyes got blurry as tears fell on her cheeks. Sakura started shaking too but she used her other hand to run it through his soft but messy hair.

„ Sakura..." his voice trembled. „You will explain to me the procedure in detail. I don't want to see you taking unnecessary risks. If something goes wrong...I want you to pull back... It doesn't mean we'll give up...we'll just have to find another method...We are not losing you too, do you hear me...That's a direct order from your Hokage!"

The only think going through Sakura's head then was that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and that heroes don't hesitate in the face of death so her only response was to bury her head deeper in his shoulder.


End file.
